How to Create An Unstoppable Photography Client Experience

Wouldn’t it be amazing if your clients were excited to book with you—not just because of the photos you take, but because they can’t wait to work with you specifically? Imagine running a business where people don’t hesitate to invest, where word-of-mouth referrals keep your calendar full, and where clients leave their sessions thinking, “Wow, that was worth every penny.”

The truth is, high-paying clients don’t just buy photos. They buy trust, confidence, and a seamless experience. And that all starts with how you make them feel.

A great photography client experience is not just a series of steps that you rinse and repeat with every single client. Rather, having a standout client experience means that you, as the photographer, become someone who is SO confident at adapting to any sort of question, circumstance, or obstacle that may arise. In a way, a client experience is less of a “series of steps” you provide and more of a “skillset” you possess.

Have you ever felt like people don't take you seriously because you're too young, kind, or warm?

Or maybe you have a hard time connecting on a personal level with your clients because you really prioritize being a professional…

The good news? You don’t have to pick between warm and authoritative. Let's talk about how you can be both!

Studies in psychology (Harvard Business Review) show that when people first meet you, they subconsciously assess two things:

Can I trust this person? (Are they warm towards me?)

Can I respect this person? (Are they authoritative?)

If you’re only warm, people like you—but might not take you seriously.

If you’re only authoritative, people respect you—but may not feel connected to you.

So how do you craft a seamless, high-end experience that keeps your calendar full? Let’s talk about two things you should be doing—and two things to avoid—to make your client journey unforgettable.

DO: Set the Tone Before They Even Book

📍 When to do this: The Pre-Booking Phase

Before a client ever reaches out, they’re forming an opinion about you. Your website, Instagram, and inquiry process should all send a clear message: that they are in the best hands!

✔️ Warmth: Use approachable, inviting language in your emails and captions. 

✔️ Authority: Have clear pricing, packages, and next steps. Confidence sells—clients should feel like they’re stepping into a well-structured, professional experience.

Here are two examples. Instead of this:

“Thank you for your inquiry [polite, but not warm — you want your lead to know that they’re special]. To move forward, please see the attached pricing sheet, and let me know if you have any questions.” [lacks authority — unsure who’s leading the conversation, open-ended next steps]

Try this:

“I’d love to celebrate you! I see you go to XYZ High School, congrats on your big win last Friday! [warmth — friendly, specific, attentive] To save time and see if this is a good fit, the next step is to set up a consultation call with me: (link).” [authority — firm, clear] 

DON’T: Make Them Feel Like One of Many

📍 When to watch out for this: The Pre-Session & Session Day

Nothing kills the photography client experience faster than feeling like just another name on your calendar. While automation is important in order to scale, if your process is too one-size-fits-all, clients won’t feel personally valued.

🚫 Avoid automating every single part of your email communications — add personal touches like their name, session location, or something fun they mentioned in conversation.

🚫 Get into conversation with your clients to learn about their vision and personality. Even knowing small details about their pets, extended family, or heritage opens up so many opportunities to customize their experience.

DO: Go Beyond What’s Expected

📍 When to do this: Post-Session & Follow-Up

People don’t remember what you do as much as how you made them feel. Surprise and delight your clients after their session, and they’ll become lifelong fans.

✔️ Warmth: Send a handwritten thank-you note or small gift to show you genuinely care.

✔️ Authority: Deliver their final images in a way that feels premium—think high-end packaging, a beautiful online gallery, early delivery, or a bonus print.

DON’T: Disappear After the Session

📍 When to avoid this: The Follow-Up Phase

If your last interaction with a client is sending their gallery and an invoice, you’re leaving money (and referrals) on the table. Post-session is where the money is made!

🚫 Don’t assume they’ll refer you—ask! A simple, “I’d love to work with your friends & family!” goes a long way.

🚫 Avoid missing out on reviews—make it easy by sending them a direct link and a short prompt.

Ultimately, the thing between you and clients that feel taken care of, trust you, and invest at a high level is a solid client experience. 

An established photography client experience gives you:

• A reputable brand as the go-to photographer in your area, known for so much more than just great photos.

• Consistent word of mouth referrals — the best kind!

• The ability to charge higher prices, as clients go out of their way to pay more for an elevated experience.
  
  

Cleaning up your client experience skills will prevent a few things, too:

• Miscommunication & confusion are much less common when clients know exactly what to expect and have no “last-minute” surprises or misunderstandings.

• Burnout: Once you master premium pricing AND client experience — you’ll unlock the power of CHOICE. You’ll get to  choose your volume level based on the season of life you’re in. Want to book more and earn more? Go for it! Ready to take fewer clients and spend more time with your family? Not a problem. With premium pricing, your bank account is looking good either way!

• Turning leads into luxury clients: Did someone say effortless marketing?! No more struggling to find new leads, since every client you work with becomes a passionate ambassador for your business (and often becomes a repeat client themselves!).

When your client experience is dialed in, everything in your business feels smoother, more profitable, and more enjoyable.

After mastering my own client experience, I unlocked a business model that attracts leads effortlessly, converts at a 90% rate, and generates four-figure sales per client.I was able to more confidently share my premium prices, enjoy a steady flow of referrals from happy clients, and build a reputation that does the selling for me. 

If you’ve ever struggled with how to show up via email to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table with your clients, I can help! 4-figure portrait photography bookings aren’t out of reach when you have the right tools. Check out my freebie to learn the exact 3 email phases I go through with each of my 4-figure clients.

6 Tips for Photography Business Growth: What NOT To Do

The key to photography business growth isn’t just about adding more to your plate — it’s about understanding what thoughts and habits to let go of to catapult you forward. There was a point in my business where I was saying yes to virtually any photography inquiry that landed in my inbox simply so that I could justify my decision to have left my corporate job just months earlier. Realizing I was now going to have to pay for health insurance, figure out my own retirement plan, and pay my rent meant one thing: anyone who was willing to pay me was going to get photographed! 

If I'm honest, I was a little scared, wondering if having a photography business was this temporary, somewhat-financially-helpful hobby, or if it was going to launch me into the ambitious, high-level career I had always dreamed of.

I wish I’d had a helpful list of things NOT to do in this phase, so I’m happy to pass this photography business growth information along to you, another photographer looking to level-up!

1. Don’t underestimate the power of specializing (aka “niching”)

The question of whether or not to niche is common.

Yes, in the first year or two of your photography business, saying “yes” to all kinds of photo gigs is important so you can test out what you enjoy/feel naturally good at.

I get it! As a photographer, you don’t want to be put in a box or find yourself photographing the same type of client over and over and over again. But a photographer who wears a business hat just as much as a creative one knows that in order to scale your business to the point where you can leave your other job, enjoy financial freedom, and maximize TIME freedom — becoming the go-to for one niche is the wisest business move.

In other words, don't try to be everything to everyone – narrow down to your ideal client instead of accepting every type of booking.

Note: It also makes sense to do what I call one primary niche and one complementary niche, like:

• Seniors and families

• Weddings and boudoir

As these clients overlap, it gives you a chance to work with them multiple times without diluting your brand specialty.

2. Don’t worry too much about a logo

I still remember making my logo from scratch in Photoshop while on a babysitting gig in college — I was left deciding between a lovely, clunky black and white sunset or an 80s-esque colorful triangle situation (Let's just say, it wasn't my branding that got me booked in the early days). 

Instead, I focused heavily on client service (leaning into how my clients FEEL, not just how they LOOK). Simple things like showing up early, delivering images on time, and accommodating requests (to an extent) left me with a LOT of happy clients who were telling their friends about me. Then, once I had a great year with lots of profit to show for it, I hired a professional designer to re-design my entire brand — colors, logos, patterns, icons, submarks — you name it. 

In the meantime, there are so many great free tools like Canva to get started — to start, make your logo something that has your name in it. Personal brands are powerful! Plus, you can always change it later.

3. Don't underprice your services

If you're starting your business from absolute scratch without photography experience, then practicing is crucial before you start working with paid clients. At first, rather than positioning sessions as "paid photoshoots," think of them as "portfolio builders" or practice sessions. Once you have enough sessions to a) feel comfortable moving through a session and using your camera properly, and b) have a portfolio that represents your body of work — then it's time to start charging!

A lot of photographers overthink pricing when it's actually quite simple. When you're getting started, meet the market rate. Not less. Then, as your demand grows (and with the right specialization and business skills, it will), then you raise prices to level out demand. Didn't think you were stepping back into economics class, did ya?!

Then, when you’re ready to really scale your business financially (i.e. booking 4-figure clients consistently), there's one ESSENTIAL shift to be made at this point  (what my students know as a luxe upsell method) 

If you find yourself consistently booked, but feel like you're “missing something” when it comes to achieving financial freedom as a photographer, check out my free guide, luxury client email prompts: 3 non-negotiable phases for 4-figure bookings.

4. Don’t skip contracts

Always have a contract, even for friends or small gigs. Contracts protect you (and your client) and sets professional expectations about deliverables, deadlines, payments, reschedules and cancellations. 

Not only that, but peace of mind that your assets are protected is priceless!

This is also why having a CRM like Honeybook is great — you can manage client contracts, payments, and emails all in one place.

5. Don’t forget about taxes

Most of us photographers didn't realize we would end up in a career that requires us to be tax-savvy rather than just collecting our W-2 during tax season — but… here we are.

Do not forget to set aside a percentage of every payment for taxes to avoid any unwelcome surprises come tax season. Hire a tax professional to help you with understanding the best legal structure for your business (LLC, sole proprietor, etc.), setting up a business bank account, and knowing how much to set aside with each transaction.

6. Don’t miss out on 4-figure sales messaging

It's true — there is a photography world where collecting $1,000, $2,000, $3,000+ sales on repeat is the norm (even 5-figure sales in many cases) — but never without the right messaging.

One of the most common mistakes to avoid in order to get closer to luxury clientele who refuse to work with anyone BUT you? Here it is: do not overload potential clients with unnecessary details; instead, issue just the RIGHT amount of information at the RIGHT time.

Not sure what you're missing when it comes to luxury client emails? Download the freebie to learn the exact 3 email phases I go through with each of my 4-figure clients.

For me, the most challenging things I encountered as I strove for photography business growth were pretty simple. First of all, the “noise” of “markets are saturated” and “the algorithm is against us” etc were not true at all. Secondly, I was accepting way too many bookings. It felt great to be in demand, but after a while, going out on sessions constantly (sometimes multiple in one day) started to take a toll on my creativity, and even the way I served my clients. It was at that point I knew it was time to make a pricing (and business model) shift.

In between all the low-paid gigs, I would research master's degree programs and local job openings. I never felt completely confident that this thing was going to "work" — until one month it clicked, I figured out what it means to serve premium clientele instead of mainstream clientele. After that, everything changed. No more wedding bookings — I didn't want to work on weekends! No more birthday parties, heart-racing proposals, or couples sessions. I had done enough sessions to realize what I was best at, and planned to channel my energy into premium clientele completely.

What started as a side-gig editing photos from a small laptop on the Ikea desk in my own bedroom has since grown into the multi-six figure, streamlined, manageable senior photography business of my dreams. Are you ready to learn more about making your dream photography business a reality?

Day In The Life Of A Senior Photographer | Photography Business BTS

As a senior photographer, there are a lot of things I love about my job. One of the things I appreciate most is the flexibility and freedom it brings into my life. No two days look the same, but the beauty is—I get to design my own path.. Join me on a breakdown of a typical day in my life as a senior photographer and see behind the scenes with a business owner!

My Hatch alarm (ocean noises, thank you very much) clock goes off before the sun. I love getting a head start on the day — there’s just something about that hour that feels like you’re ahead of the ball, and for a business owner, there’s hardly a better feeling!

I'm loving taking pilates classes in the morning, or heading to the gym for a little strength training. I call this input/output time — input in the sense that I use this time to listen to a podcast, training or course. Output in the sense that I'm getting blood moving in my body, which helps fresh ideas pop into my brain! Some mornings, just a quick walk outside is all you need to get the creative juices flowing. Once I'm home, I read 10 pages of a non-fiction book (every single day!), make a cup of coffee (Nespresso’s maple flavor is currently my fav), set my action items for the day, and get ready for calls and photoshoots.

As a business owner, every day is different. Mondays are my consultation days, where I meet with potential clients and design their sessions with me. Tuesday through Thursday are photoshoot days, most often, but since sessions are either early morning or late afternoon, the middle of the day is spent editing, designing artwork for clients, creating content, or coaching other senior photographers. Then on Friday I play the role of babysitter for my nephew Bennett, which is one of my favorite perks of making my own schedule. I'll spend a couple of hours playing with him while my sister gets to catch up on work or get some alone time, and then the three of us will go out for coffee and a walk by the beach. The dream! 

I wrap up the week by planning the next week every Friday afternoon. That's a must for me! I have an hour reserved every Friday for what I call "time block planning" (cuter name coming soon but… you get the idea) where I refer to my master to-do list, and pull out certain tasks to drip into the next week's schedule. As a business owner who relies on her calendar to keep things running smoothly, this is probably THE most important hour of the week!

Depending on what’s going on that day, I sometimes start work at 9AM and finish around 8PM since I’ll often take photos at sunset. For that reason, I always try to take extended breaks during the day, maybe for a few hours, to balance out the workday and make sure I'm taking time to connect with my friends, family, & self! 

When you really enjoy what you do, those days that seem long on a calendar absolutely fly by. As the gal in charge, I’m also able to block off days at a time, take a half day, or travel the world for a month if I feel the need! As a business owner, you get to decide when to work and when to play, without needed pre-approval from upper management. The fact that I happen to love both work and play is just the cherry on top of it all! 

When it comes to work/life balance, my husband and I are definitely in a season of building as we say. We know that every day of intentional work is laying a brick into the foundation of our future. And, to be honest, it feels really good.

So in that sense, the work/life balance does tend to lean into the work side more often, but it also feels like a part of our life too — we both work in "the people business" and get to spend our days with so many great people. Our clients keep us energized and we both work in beautiful, outdoor settings (I mean, I listen to waves crash on the sand for a living). So right now, we're actually thankful that work and life harmonize so well for us. 

My favorite ways to unwind are travel, sushi dinners with my girlfriends, reading a Kristen Hannah book, watching Survivor with my husband (we've seen every single season), spending time with my family, and beach days with my surf-obsessed parents. Even in our season of building, it’s important to have some downtime! 

On the work side, having help is such an important part of growth. I realized lately there’s a whole village in my life and business now! I have a Pinterest/blog manager, a virtual assistant, an editor, interns & in-person assistants, a print lab team, a senior rep team (grab my freebie to learn more about having your own rep team), an accountant & bookkeeper, business coaches, and a financial advisor. Asking for help isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength for any business owner.

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A post shared by Jenna Lesoeur | Senior Photographer (@jenrenpro)

I've invested tens of thousands of dollars in coaching & mentorship in recent years, and the return on my investment always comes back in multiples. I spent far too many years in my business completely alone, sort of "white knuckling" this whole business thing through trial and error. Hiring experienced mentors I trusted, with proven track records, basically pushed me forward years (and, when taking compound interest into account, decades) in a matter of months.


Specifically, I've been trained in sales skills, entrepreneurship, life coaching, messaging, sales events, and, of course, photography! To be honest, I don't think I'll ever be without a coach or mentor who is several steps ahead of me. It's the best way to grow.

When it comes to growth, remember that roots grow down before they grow up. Growth downward is still growth! For the business owner working so hard and/or searching for clarity in your business, you can appreciate the fact that your roots are growing down. Same goes for an investment, risk, sacrifice or leap into a decision — roots grow in the dark, where no one can see. The longer and stronger the roots, the stronger and more durable your growth. Water it, grow down, and repeat. “Fruit“ will be your natural byproduct.

Every business owner starts somewhere — I know what it’s like to look around and realize I’m capable of more. I can pinpoint the moment I knew I could create a life where I got to make my own schedule, make a living being creative, and serve others well in the process.

If you’re looking for more flexibility in your life by building a successful senior photographer business so your days can look a little more like mine, there are ways I can help you! 

Check out my new challenge, the Shoot Less Make More Challenge — 5 days to give you a head start on mastering the art of creating predictable financial stability in your photography business.

Also make sure you’re following me on instagram @jrpuniversity for ways to improve your craft, increase your impact, and invest in your future.